The costumes, sets and props are moved, the workshop is set up and Peninsula Players are beginning their rehearsals for their first show as partners with the Mary Winspear Centre in November.
The two groups signed a partnership agreement at the end of May after the Players were informed they would have to move from their location in the old Saanichton Elementary School building as the Saanich School District was expanding their programming there.
“We started looking for somewhere to go because we knew we had to be out of the space by August,” explained the Players’ President, Marketa Mellows.
The two groups came together in the spring and by the end of May they had signed the agreement that would make them partners.
“It was a logical choice,” said Philip Sutton, the theatre manager, who signed the agreement with Mellows for the Players’ newest show Mousetrap last week.
“It’s hugely beneficial for both organizations and it’s another way for us to entrench ourselves in the arts community.”
Peninsula Players have been a cornerstone in the arts community on the Saanich Peninsula since they officially began in 1953 said Mellows.
The Players have been performing at the Mary Winspear Centre and Berwick Royal Oak for years and more recently have branched out to performing at Muse Winery in the summers.
“All that will still continue in the new partnership,” assured Sutton, adding that the Winspear will take over some duties for things like poster printing and most of the ticket sales.
“It’s exciting for us to be in a new home and to be starting rehearsals for our first show as the resident theatre company,” said Mellows.
The group will perform Mousetrap (a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery) in the first week of November at the Winspear, directed by Geoff Davidson. Audtions for the Players’ Christmas Panto A Christmas Carol will also take place Sept. 9, 13 and 14 at the Winspear.